Fire extinguisher



June 7, 1949.

R/ZIESCHANG FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed 001:. 12, 1945 INVEN TOR P504;

M; c, 0:04 1M Patented June 7, 1949 FIRE EXTINGUISHER Richard Zieschang,Brentford, England, assignor to The Pyrene Company Limited, Brentford,England, a British company Application October 12, 1945, Serial No.622,003 In Great Britain November 13, 1944 2 Claims.

This invention relates to hand-operated fireextinguishing apparatus ofthe type in which a fire-extinguishing liquid is ejected by pressurewhen a sealing member within the apparatus is pierced. The invention isparticularly applicable to apparatus in which the liquid is kept underpressure .until the sealing member is pierced but may be applied also toapparatus in which a small container of highly compressed gas is placedinside the apparatus and is pierced to provide the internal pressurerequired to drive out the liquid.

In existing apparatus of this kind it is only possible to expel thewhole of the liquid in the apparatus when the apparatus is held incertain positions. In other positions the inlet to the discharge nozzlebecomes uncovered by the liquid before all the liquid has been drivenout, and thereafter gas passes out through the discharge nozzle insteadof liquid.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of thekind in question which will discharge a continuous jet of liquid untilall or substantially all the liquid has been driven out, no matter whatthe position in which the apparatus is held.

In my invention I provide a revoluble pick-up device which extends oversubstantially the whole length of the liquid container and whichincludes a passage leading to the discharge orifice and has twovalve-controlled inlets for liquid, one at each end of the device. Ialso provide a device slidable under gravity on the pick-up device andoperative on sliding to move one valve positively off its seat and toforce the other valve positively onto its seat.

My invention will be most readily understood by reference to the annexeddrawings, which show the preferred embodiment of the invention and inwhich:

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through certain parts of theapparatus;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 11-11 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing the bottom of the apparatus moreclearly;

Figure 4 is a section on the line IV-IV in Figure 1 but is on a largerscale;

Figures 5 and 6 show two parts embodied in the apparatus; and

Figure '7 is an enlarged view of a portion of the parts shown at thebottom of Figure 1.

The apparatus shown is of the type in which liquid is maintained underpressure in a cylindrical container I closed at the upper end by a disc2 which is soldered in position, the disc having a boss 3 in which asealing member 4 is secured and on which an operating head 5 is screwed.This head carries a discharge nozzle 6 and a pointed plunger 1 which canbe forced against a spring 8 to pierce the member 4 and so to allow theextinguishing liquid to be expelled by the internal pressure.

The disc 2 is centrally bored and formed with a part-conical seat 36 onwhich one end of a tube 9 bears, theother end of this tube fitting overa lug ll] secured to a plate II at the bottom of the container l. Thetube 9 is free to revolve on the lug l9 and in contact with the conicalseat 36 and it constitutes part of the revoluble pick-up device, all theliquidexpelled from the container l passing through the tube 9 on theway to the discharge nozzle 6. The tube 9 has two inlets I2 and i3,which register respectively with the ends of passages 14 and I5 formedin radially extending parts of bosses l6 and H which surround and aresecured to the tube 9. These passages I4 and i5 constitute the liquidinlets and their opposite ends form seats for ball valves [8 and I 9respectively. These ball valves lie in valve cages 20 and 2| formed byrecessing and forking the ends of the radially extending parts of thebosses l6 and l I.

The device slidable under gravity to force the ball valves l8 and 19 offand on to their valve seats, l8 and I9 takes the form of two housings 22and 23 which are tapped to receive short threaded tubes 24 and 25 overeach of which two guide lugs 26 and 21 fit, these lugs being held inposition by nuts 28 and 29. The tubes 24 and 25 extend through the nuts28 and 29 into the ends of a hollow rod 39, to which they are soldered.The two housings 22 and 23 are thus united, and the resultant unit canboth revolve and slide as a whole, since the guide lugs 26 and 21, whichare shown separately in Figures 5 and 6, form radial arms slidable onthe tube 9. The unit and the pick-up device revolve together, becausethe housings 22 and 23 fit over the ends of the bosses l5 and H but areslotted to allow the sliding movement to take place. The housings 22 and23 are formed with inclined tubular passages 3| and 32 lined bypart-cylindrical splined members 33 and 34 which loosely engage andretain the ball valves I8 and IS. The passages 3| and 32 extend at rightangles to the axes of the passages I l and I5, and when the wholesliding device moves longitudinally the ball valves [8 and I!) areforced to move in the directions of the axes of the passages I4 and ItOff and on to their valve seats l8 and I9. In the position shown inFigure 1 the splined member 33 forms an inclined surface by which theball I8 is forced to engage the valve seat I8 and close the end of thepassage I4 by wedge action, and the splined member 34 is holding theball I 9 away from the valve seat I9 at the end of the passage I 5. Ifthe apparatus is turned the other way up the sliding device will move asa whole and force the ball I8 off its seat I8 and the ball I9 ontoitsseat I9.

The pressure inside the pick-up device is the same as that outside it.In consequence, only the weight of the sliding device formed by thehousings 22 and 23 and associated parts is to urge the ball valve I8 orI9 onto its seat I8 or I9 during discharge. It is to ensure that eitherthe valve I8 or the ball valve I9 is kept firmly on its seat that I makeuse of the principle of wedge action, and I prefer to make the anglewhich the surfaces of the inclined passages 3| and 32 make with the axisof the whole pick-up device between 25 and 30, although it may be asmuch as 45.

If desired, the rod 30 may carry a freely slidable weight, the purposeof which is both to increase the weight of the sliding device and bystriking the remainder of the sliding device to assist in dislodging itif it should stick to either end position. In order to prevent leakagefrom the upper end of the tube 9 it is forced onto the seat 36 in whichthe tube 9 rotates (as hereinbefore mentioned) by a spring 35 whichbears on the plate II and surrounds the lug I9 and the lower end of thetube 9.

I claim:

1. In a hand-operated fire-extinguishing apparatus of the kind setforth, a cylindrical container for a liquid having a discharge nozzlefor the liquid to be expelled from said container, a pipe extendinglongitudinally inside said container and communicating with saiddischarge nozzle, and a revoluble liquid pick-up device extending oversubstantially the whole length of said container, said pick-up devicehaving at each end a boss secured to said pipe and each provided with apassage communicating with the inside of said pipe, each of saidpassages having at its outer end a valve seat, a ball cooperating witheach valve seat, a housing for each ball in which the ball is positivelymoved into and out of engagement with its valve seat, means slidinglysupported for longitudinal movement on said pipe and carrying both ofsaid housings whereby the latter must move in unison to force one ofsaid balls away from engagement with its valve seat and the other ballinto engagement with its valve seat.

2. A fire-extinguishing apparatus according to claim 1, in which eachhousing has a surface bearing on its ball which is inclined to thedirection in which said housings move.

. RICHARD ZIESCHANG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 778,439 Battelle Dec. 27, 1904954,398 MacGregor Apr. 5, 1910 2,204,798 Ferguson June 18, 1940Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,472,506. June 7, 1949.

RICHARD ZIESOHANG It is hereby certified that error appears in theprinted specification of the above numbered patent requiring correctionas follows:

Column 3, line 13, after is insert the Word available;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Office.

Signed and sealed this 1st day of November, A. D. 1949.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

